Page 92 of Claimed By the Villain
An hour later, I leave the hospital room feeling much calmer.
I take a deep breath when I reach the hallway. I see the two bodyguards who are like my shadows at the far end, but instead of heading toward them, I walk the other way to the bathroom, because I don’t want them reporting to the boss that I’ve been crying. If they do, Lucifer will want to know why, and I need a few more days before I can bring myself to tell him about the baby.
I step into the bathroom and choose a stall. I take longer than usual; I’m so anxious that the quiet of the place soothes me.
There’s a sound in the stall next to mine as someone occupies it, and I finally realize I need to leave.
I head to the sink to wash my hands and startle when one of the stall doors opens. Instead of a woman stepping out, it’s a man.
My mouth opens to scream, panicked, but before I can, the voice I haven’t heard in almost a decade says:
“Don’t scream, Jackie. It’s me, Martin.”
Chapter 49
“Who are you?” I ask, and once the initial shock passes, I take a step back. “My brother is dead!”
Of course, my mind has to be playing tricks on me. This stranger could never be Martin. His appearance is completely different. Martin was a male version of me. Handsome but not stunning. The man standing in front of me is flawless, with that kind of photographic-model beauty.
“I survived the crash. I was rescued and taken to a small island, where I stayed for about seven years,” he says, and automatically I do the math, realizing the dates match up with the plane crash that killed my brother. “I had no memory until recently. Two months ago, to be exact. I didn’t remember anything.”
“You don’t look like him,” I say, fear giving way to recognition now that I listen to his voice more calmly.
“I had to undergo surgeries to rebuild my face. I think they changed my appearance. In the end, I guess it was a goodthing because whoever wanted me dead will try again if they find out I survived.”
“What do you mean ‘whoever wanted you dead’? Are you telling me the plane crash wasn’t an accident?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
My mind spins with the information. I try to piece it together, and slowly, it starts to make sense. “Prove to me you’re him.”
“How?”
“Tell me something from my childhood.”
“Alston women never cry. They’re tough, Jackie,” he says, the exact words he used to repeat to me over and over while I was growing up.
My heart bleeds, overflows, but distrust is in my DNA. I’m still not satisfied. “I want more facts,” I say.
“Our mother died when you were nineteen. The first cancer hit when you were still a child, and then she had several metastases. On the day of her funeral, I took you under a tree, and we stayed there hugging, talking about the past and—”
I don’t let him finish, throwing myself into his arms.
“My God, I missed you so much!” he says, holding me tight against his body.
I kiss him and cling to him, terrified he might disappear again. “I can’t believe it’s you, Martin!” I cry, not caring if he thinks I’m weak.
“Yes, it’s me, and now we’ll be together forever. There will be no more separations. But today, I can’t stay long. I need to leave, or I’ll end up dead.”
“Why?”
“They’re after me. The same person who tried to kill me. A client I worked for in the past. I don’t want to put you or our brother in danger. I was so happy when I found out you and Lucifer are together.”
I stare at him, stunned. “You’re not angry about that?”
“No. Why would I be? It was destiny all along. I found out by accident today when I saw his bodyguards in the hospital hallway.”
We hear the bathroom doorknob turn. Quickly, Martin steps into a stall, I think to hide, and I follow him. If a woman sees a man here, she’ll cause a scene.
